LUDLOW — The Society of Vermont Artists and Craftsmen is celebrating a major milestone this weekend.

The annual SVAC Arts and Crafts Festival is celebrating its 30th year of showcasing fine arts from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today, rain or shine, at the Fletcher Farm School for the Arts and Crafts in Ludlow. Approximately 60 artisans from Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York and Ohio will be on hand selling artwork and much more.

The festival is an important summertime event for commercial artists in the region. According to festival organizer Cynthia Sheehan, the quality of products and the artists who attend are the ones who have sustained the popular summer event for so long.

“People come back because they enjoy the quality of arts and crafts and the variety,” Sheehan said. “It’s right on Route 103, and it’s a nice, friendly, and warm atmosphere.”

John David Geery of Clarendon is a longtime veteran of the SVAC Arts and Crafts Festival. He’s been to at least 15 of the last 30 festivals and said it’s one of his biggest shows of the year to attend.

“I have a lot of repeat business there,” Geery said. “A lot of skiers and second homeowners come up for Fourth of July weekend and it is well advertised. It’s been very consistent and it has a local Vermont feel to it as well. If you go to a show with a professional promoter, there’s a lot of hype and non-Vermont crafts folks. It doesn’t have that same feel here.”

This year’s juried crafts include water and oil paintings, folk art, primitives, gold and silver jewelry, woodworking and woodcarving, photography, basketry, pottery, doll makers and doll clothes, handmade soaps, herbal products, bird houses and more. Instructors at the Fletcher Farm School for Arts and Crafts will also conduct workshops and demonstrations throughout the day.

Squeels on Wheels will offer a variety of foods and Colby’s Kettle Corn will sell popcorn made fresh in their old-fashioned kettle cooker. Local resident Brent Buswell will play accordion for entertainment and there will also be a demonstration of the art of chainsaw carving by Charles Dion.

As for Geery, he is eagerly anticipating the start of SVAC’s 30th anniversary festival.

“For me, it’s the fun. I enjoy it and the people are nice,” Geery said. “Cynthia Sheehan does a great job running it, it’s a good market for me, and I sell Vermont landscape photos. Tourists respond to that well.”